Hope College sprinter Sara Schermerhorn raced past a former teammate to win the 400-meter run at the indoor season–opening Grand Valley State University Holiday Open on Friday in Allendale.

The senior from Traverse City, Michigan (Traverse City West), posted a first-place time of 55.45 seconds to race past a field of 58 on GVSU’s 300-meter track. The run also was the fastest in NCAA Division III so far this season.

Schermerhorn crossed the finish line ahead of runner-up Catherine Leahy ’25. Leahy, who now competes for NCAA Division I Oakland University as a graduate student, finished in 57.43.

The meet, which featured NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA competitors, was the first for head coach Jordan Bartolazzi coaching Schermerhorn, a four-time All-American over the past two indoor seasons.

“Sara is an exceptional worker, and she has all the intangibles,” Bartolazzi said. “She knows how to race and how to run with exceptional form.

“It was neat to see Catherine running. I would have loved to get her last year of eligibility this year, but I’m happy for her. She’s at a great school and will continue to do great things.”

The Flying Dutch delivered several more strong performances.

In the 1-mile run invite division, senior Molly Durow picked up where she left off after an All-American cross country season this fall.

Durow (Glenview, Illinois / Glenbrook South) clocked Division III’s top time with a runner-up effort of 4:58.97. Only Gabby Phelan of NCAA Division I Toledo University was faster, at 4:57.3.

Freshman Miranda Sawvel (Laramie, Colorado / Centennial) placed eighth in the event in 5:14.47.

The Flying Dutch posted Division III’s fifth-fastest 4×400 relay, with freshman Jaidyn Klimp (Galesburg, Michigan / Galesburg Augusta), senior Frances Cozzens (Lyman, New Hampshire / St. Johnsbury Academy), freshman Savana Monville (Auburn, Michigan / Bay City Western) and freshman Eliana Kotsonis (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin / Hamilton) going 4:03.50. The relay finished seventh in the race.

Junior Mary England (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Kalamazoo Central) outraced the field in Heat 2 of the 3,000-meter run, recording a time of 10:20.07 that was sixth-fastest in Division III. England finished ahead of runner-up Jadie Chavez of the Division I University of Illinois at Chicago, who ran 10:32.51.

Freshman Taylor Mitchell (Otsego, Michigan / Otsego) took fourth in the heat at 10:38.00.

In Heat 2 of the 5,000-meter run, freshman Dylan Ballin (Brookville, Ohio / Brookville) led the Flying Dutch with a third-place time of 18:08.83. Ballin ranked 17th in the nation after Friday.

“I was really pleased,” Bartolazzi said. “We had great energy, as the men did. It was a good day for Hope track and field.”

Hope next competes Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Aurora University (Illinois) Grand Prix near Chicago.

BOSTON, MA (December 6, 2025) — The Tufts University women’s track and field team sent a small contingent of distance runners to the opening indoor track and field meet of the 2025-26 season, competing at the 2025 Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at the BU Track and Tennis Center. 

Sophomore Phoebe Bryar competed in the women’s 1500 meter run Saturday, and finished 31st overall in a very deep meet with many Division I and II schools competing. Bryar ran a 4:56.36 in the event, while the race continued for a mile time as she chalked up a 5:15.48 for a New England Regional qualifying time and 30th place.

Sonia Olson also ran in the same event, taking 37th in the in the 1500m en route with a 4:59.02. She would close with a time of 5:19.57 in the mile run. 

First-year Zui Chinchalkar ran her first collegiate track race in the 3000 meter run, crossing the line in 10:02.06 for a Division III New England Regional qualifying time. 

Senior Elizabeth Donahue ran a 16:54.83 in the women’s 5000m run, and junior Katya Henisz finished with a 17:13.13. Both times were regional qualifying times, as well as personal-best times in the event. 

Tufts will have a few days off before heading to the Dartmouth College December Invitational Friday, December 12 in Hanover, NH. 

–JUMBOS–

 

STANFORD, Calif. – The Arizona Wildcats took down seven-seed South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in four sets (25-21, 22-25, 25-15, 25-15) on Friday night in Maples Pavilion to advance to the second round. The win marks Arizona’s first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2016.
 
Arizona recorded 10 blocks and hit .317 to take down the Jackrabbits. Jordan Wilson led Arizona with five blocks and 24 kills with a .340 clip. Carlie Cisneros followed with 18 kills and Sydnie Vanek knocked down 10 kills to round out the offense. Journey Tucker led the Wildcats’ defense with six blocks and also added nine kills.

The Cats won the first set, 25-21. Arizona used multiple runs to hold the lead the entire set over South Dakota State and went on a 3-0 run to end the set. Wilson led the Cats with eight kills and a .353 hitting percentage while Cisneros followed with five kills to help the offense. Arizona totaled three blocks in the opening set to hold the Jackrabbits to a .200 hitting percentage.

 

South Dakota State took the second set, 25-22, to even the match. The Jackrabbits started the set on an 8-0 run to control the set. Cisneros had five kills while three Cats – Britt Carlson, Tucker, and Wilson – recorded two kills each. Tucker tallied four blocks and Wilson had three, but it wasn’t enough to overcome South Dakota State in the set.

 

Arizona took the third set, 25-15, to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Cats took the lead at 7-6 and hit .405 to keep control for the entire set. Wilson led the attack with seven kills and Vanek followed with five kills and a .571 hitting percentage. Cisneros and Tucker rounded out the offense for Arizona with seven kills between the pair.

 

The Wildcats won the fourth set, 25-15, to secure the match win. Arizona’s offense hit .515 and the Cats used a 4-0 run in the middle of the set to pull away from the Jackrabbits. The offense was led by Wilson with seven kills while Cisneros and Vanek added four kills each. Arizona’s defense only had one block but was able to hold South Dakota State to a .118 hitting percentage in the set.

 

Arizona will face the winner of [2] Stanford vs. Utah Valley in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, December 6 at 7 p.m. MST in Maples Pavilion.

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Brown track and field programs opened up their 2025-26 indoor seasons this weekend, competing at two separate meets in Rhode Island. A majority of the Bears competed at their home opener, the 39th annual Alden Invitational at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center (OMAC) on Saturday.
 
The Alden Invite saw three Bears set marks that landed on the program’s all-time top 10 performers list in their respective events. Senior Zoe Carter-Konate tossed a 17.88-meter weight throw, putting her sixth all time in women’s program history, beating her previous PR by 56 centimeters. Junior Alyssa Jackson ran a 7.55 60-meter dash, tying her for third in program history and beating her previous PR by .03 seconds. On the men’s side, sophomore Trevor Wilder finished the 60m dash in 6.86 seconds, putting him ninth in program history. 
 
As a team, the Brown women took home first place out of four teams with 164 points, while the men’s team took second, trailing only Bryant with 116 points. 
           
ALDEN INVITATIONAL
MEN
In the 60m final, Wilder’s 6.86 time placed him first in the event, with freshman Filippos Georgantas finishing second with a time of 6.92 and junior Skyler Hall finishing third with a time of 6.97. Hall also finished fifth in the 300m race with a time of 36.17.
 
Junior Aaron Caveney claimed first in the 1,000 meter run with a time of 2:29.11. Freshman Duncan Frisbie-Smith followed in second with a time of 2:30.34.
 
In the 3000m, freshman Will Smitas finished second with a time of 8:42.85. Sophomore Kit Jackson finished third with a time of 8:44.34 and sophomore Nick Strayer finished fourth in 9:15.71. 
 
Junior Mubaraq Aderogba finished first in the long jump final at a mark of 7.06 meters. Freshman Jerald Evangelista finished third by leaping 6.86 meters.
 
Two freshmen had big first impressions in the shot put with Sean Wilton taking first place (15.98m), and Argenis Luciano finishing fifth at 13.83 meters. 
 
In the weight throw, junior Ethan Wordell captured first with a 16.84m throw. Freshman Grayson He made a big impression by finishing fourth at 15.40m.
 
 
WOMEN
Jackson’s 7.55 60m dash was good enough for first place. Sophomore Mackenzie Fulgham had a podium finish in third place with a time of 7.74 seconds. 
 
In the 300m dash, two freshmen shined for the Bears with Sydney Ruckett taking first place with a time of 39.42 and Jannah Maguire placing third with a time of 40.15. Junior Maddelynn Brooks finished fourth with a time of 40.42 seconds. 
 
In the 600m race, freshman Mia Reaugh captured first with a time of 1:36.28. Junior Katrina Sortland finished third with a time of 1:37.26 and freshman Megan Jasinski finished fourth with a time of 1:38.04.
 
Sophomore Bria Benigni ran the 1,000 meters for the Bears and finished fourth with a time of 3:07.44
 
In the mile, junior Nina Kruzewska finished third with a time of 5:09.26 and senior Juli Gonzalez finished fourth with a time of 5:11.76
 
Senior Olivia Bergin claimed first in the 3,000-meter race with a time of 10:37.40. Senior Sara Perez followed behind Bergin, placing second with a time of 10:39.22. Sophomore Eve Siff-Scherr also ran in the race, placing fifth with a time of 11:05.12.
 
Elle Riley’s 8.55-second time in the 60m hurdle finals placed her second overall, and 0.07 seconds shy of her own school record. Maguire finished third at a time of 8.84 and senior Simone Dunbar finished fourth in 8.86 seconds. 
 
In the high jump, sophomore Adanna Obuba placed second by clearing 1.56 meters. 
 
Sophomore Naa Adua Annan finished third in the long jump with a 5.35-meter mark. 
 
In the triple jump, freshman Clara Fan placed second with a mark of 11.21 meters. Senior Rachel Bibiu placed fifth with a mark of 11.06 meters.
 
In the shot put, junior Amiya Hopkins placed third with a 12.30m mark and freshman Angela Volkova placed fifth with a mark of 11.86 meters.
 
Carter-Konate’s 17.88-meter toss in the weight throw placed her in first. Junior Jillian Leahy placed third with a toss of 16.44 meters, and sophomore Giana DeCesare placed fourth at 16.08m.
 
URI MULTI-MEET
At the URI Pentathlon, junior Rosie Volpintesta and freshman Nyla Blake-Soden each scored points for the Bears with Volpintesta finishing in third place with 3,520 points, and Blake-Soden finishing fifth with 3,364. As part of the event, Volpintesta finished second in the shot put and third in the high jump, and Blake-Soden took third place in the 800 meters.
 
On the men’s side at the URI Heptathlon, Gabriel Liem Thai led the way for Brown in fourth place out of 17 competitors with 4,666 points. He finished third in the event’s pole vault by clearing 4.50 meters.
 
The Bears will return to action after the holiday break on Saturday, January 10 at the Dartmouth Relays in Hanover, N.H.
 

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MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota volleyball team defeated the Fairfield Stags in three sets to open NCAA Tournament play on Friday evening. The set scores were 25-12, 25-7, 25-13.

“I’m proud of our team for playing our brand of volleyball,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “Serving, blocking and playing really clean. Tomorrow will be a big challenge. Iowa State is a great team in a lot of facets, especially defensively,”

In their 30th NCAA Tournament appearance and 11th straight, Minnesota improved to 29-1 in first round matches. The Gophers set a school record tonight, hitting a blistering .582. The previous best was .562 in 2025 vs. Jackson State.

“You’d rather be in the Pav than anywhere else,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “We want to make the most of this experience as we had to work hard to be here. We can’t wait to play in front of our fans one more time tomorrow night. We know they’ll always show up.”

 

Julia Hanson had 13 kills to lead Minnesota while Carly Gilk had seven kills, six digs and four blocks. Lourdes Myers totaled seven kills and six blocks while Stella Swenson had 31 assists.

With Hanson’s third kill of the match, she became the latest Golden Gopher to hit 1,000 for her career. She talked about that milestone after the match.

“When I hit that back row attack from Stella I knew that was my 1,000th,” Hanson said. “It’s not something I was focusing on, but it was at the back of my mind.”

The Gophers (23-9, 12-8 Big Ten) outhit the Stags (25-6, 17-1 MAAC) .582 to .056, leading in kills (40 to 27), digs (31 to 21), aces (8 to 1) and blocks (11 to 1).

For Fairfield, Allie Elliott had seven kills while Mamie Krubally had six.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Minnesota came out red hot, scoring seven of the first eight points. Fairfield would score six of the next eight to make it 11-7. The Gophers heated up after that, tallying eight of the next 10 to go up 19-9, forcing a Stags timeout. Minnesota tallied two blocks while Gilk had two kills. Hanson and Taylor had one each in the spurt. After the timeout, Fairfield tallied a pair of points before Kinney and Swenson had kills, Hanson put down an ace and Myers was in on a pair of blocks. The ‘U’ took a 25-12 set one win.

SET 2 | Fairfield started out with a 3-1 lead before the Gophers responded with five straight to make it 6-3. Hanson and Kinney each had a pair of kills in the spurt. After the two teams split the next few points, Minnesota went on a 5-0 run to go up 12-5 and force a timeout. After the break, Gilk had an ace before Myers went for a block with Hanson. Another kill by Myers, an ace from Hanson and an attacking error by Fairfield made it 18-6, Gophers, forcing the visitors’ final timeout. Minnesota would close on a 7-1 run getting a block, four kills and an ace to win, 25-7.

SET 3 | The Stags came out hot, scoring seven of the first 12. Minnesota would respond with a 4-0 run to go up 9-7, getting kills from Taylor and Gilk along with an ace from Kinney. After a timeout, Fairfield would get back within one at 11-10 before Minnesota scored five more in-a-row. Myers and Hanson had kills along with three errors from Fairfield. After another Fairfield timeout, The Gophers extended it to 21-12 after a couple kills from Kinney and an ace from Chloe Ng, her first of the season. Minnesota scored the final four points two win, 25-13, getting a kill from Crowl, an ace from Kinney and a block from Hanson and Taylor.

Game Notes

» Minnesota is now 2-0 all-time against Fairfield, winning in sweeps in the 2019 and 2025 NCAA Tournaments.

» The Gophers are now 29-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

» The ‘U’ hit a season-best and program-best .582 tonight. They had 40 kills and just one error on 67 swings.

» .582 was the best mark by any team in the NCAA this season.

» Every Gophers hitter hit over .500 for the first time in school history. Julia Hanson was the ‘lowest’ at .522.

» Minnesota is now 20-3 against unranked opponents this season.

» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 22nd time in 2025.

» Julia Hanson (13 kills) posted 10+ kills for the 25th time this season.

» The Gophers improved to 13-4 at home this year.

» Lourdes Myers had six blocks, her 12th time with five-or-more blocks this year.

» Chloe Ng tallied an ace for the first time this season and fourth time in her career.

Up Next

Minnesota will take on No. 5 seeded Iowa State tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Round of 32 at Maturi Pavilion. ESPN+ will stream.  

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – On Saturday, the University of Hartford men’s indoor track & field team kicked off the 2025-26 campaign competing at the Yale Season Opener in New Haven. Today was highlighted by record-setting performances as several Hawks rewrote the program record book.

Rapid Recap:

• Graduate student Kaden Leonard (Webster, N.Y.) headlined for Hartford breaking records on this Saturday season opener. He took fourth place in the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.92 seconds. Leonard out beat his own all-time record at Hartford which was previously at 6.94 seconds and continues to hold the number one all-time spot in the 60 meter dash. Along with his fourth place finish Leonard took eighth in the 200m sprint event crossing the finish line at 22.70 seconds.
• Sophomore Owen Klein (Coventry, R.I.) earned second place in the men’s mile event crossing the finish line with an impressive time of 4:29.78. Along with this feat, Klein also took third in the 3000m event at 9:11.95. In that same event senior Gulian Marconi (Southampton, Mass.) placed seventh with a time of 4:35.92. Along with teammate sophomore Daren Johnson (Meriden, Conn.) on his tail coming into eighth place at 4:36.06.
• Sophomore Marlon Pierre (Baldwin, N.Y.) finished in second place in the 60m hurdles event with a time of 8.58 seconds. With this race Pierre now holds the second fastest time in Hartford history. Just behind Pierre was freshman Burrell Laneau (Valley Stream, N.Y.) making his first collegiate debut earning fourth place with a time of 8.79 seconds 
• Junior Thomas Yonkers (Farmington, Conn.) claimed second place in the pole vault event clearing a height of 4.10 meters.
• Sophomore Aidan Lybarger (South Burlington, Vt.) took third place in the men’s shot put with a distance of 14.76m on his second throw, earning also the second furthest distance of all time for the history books at Hartford. Lybarger also took 10th in the men’s weight throw, tossing a distance of 14.91 meters.
• Freshman Julius Lowe-Wannamaker (Springfield, Mass.) launched his collegiate debut earning second place in the long jump event clearing a distance of 6.82m. He also finished in 6th place in the high jump event clearing a height of 1.90 meters. 
• Sophomore Ethan Fiorenza (Dover, N.H.) took third place in the 5000m event crossing the line at 15:51.81.
• Hartford ended the day with a strong showing in the 4×400 event, it was senior Spencer Beane (North Reading, Mass.), Yonkers, freshman Mikael Isaacs (Danbury, Conn.), and sophomore Aidan Quee (Springfield, Mass.) to earn fourth place with a team time of 3:31.32.

 

Post Game Press:

“During my time off, I focused on cleaning up my form and building strength so I could come back more efficiently and ready to make a run at nationals,” said graduate student Kaden Leonard (Webster, N.Y.). “Even though I wasn’t competing, I was hungry the whole time, ready to chase PRs. My teammates fed off that energy adn ambition during block starts, workouts, the weight room, and time trials. Iron sharpening iron.”

“We had an incredible season opener,” said head coach Connor Green. “Now while school records and and top 10 marks are a goal and excellent when they happen, what we really loved with seeing all of our new athletes was to  get a chance to showcase all of the hard work they’ve been putting in. As well as all of our returners really stepping up and putting themselves in a great position for the rest of the season. Across the board it was a stellar day and we are thrilled with how our athletes performed. We can’t wait to see what’s next.”

 

Up Next: 

The Hawks will compete next Saturday, December 13th at the SCSU Art Kadish Invitational.

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